Family Filmgoer

For reviews of other movies, go to www.capecodonline.com/entertainment.

JANE HORWITZ

For reviews of other movies, go to www.capecodonline.com/entertainment.

"PUSS IN BOOTS" — The essences of several classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes are woven together somewhat awkwardly in this animated (and in 3-D) star vehicle for Shrek's pal Puss in Boots (voice of Antonio Banderas). Kids 8 and older are more likely to get all the jokes and handle the action sequences without getting scared. The film is often funny, but it also feels rather adult. There's mild innuendo about Puss' amorous exploits and his not-so-subtle sexual braggadoccio. Under-8s may not get it, but they could also get bored with those scenes. Though it's an animated film, "Puss in Boots" is in 3-D (and will be shown on some IMAX screens, too), so the action sequences could unsettle kids under 8 or so. There are swordfights and precarious chases where characters can (and do) fall into abysses, perhaps to their deaths. Puss in Boots and Kitty Softpaws flirt meaningfully. There are jokes about catnip that allude subtly to marijuana. Milk is served in saloons as if it were liquor.

PG-13

"IN TIME" — "In Time," which is fine for most teens, has a pretty profound premise, but doesn't take it much of anywhere, and teens may get bored with it, despite the presence of Justin Timberlake. Will (Timberlake), our occasional narrator, tells us that in the future, people are born with built-in time codes. After 25 years, they cease to age and their built-in clocks start counting down a final year. Time is literally used as money, for food, rent, or just time to stay alive. They can get extra time by stealing it, gambling, or through charity. If they're not creative, they just "time out" — die — when their clock hits zero. Will decides to buck the system, hotly pursued by a cop called a Time Keeper (Cillian Murphy). The level of violence is generally quite muted. Gunplay results in little on-screen blood, and when characters "time out," they just sort of lurch backward and crumple. There is implied toplessness, and skinny dipping that really shows no nudity. Characters also drink.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS – Teens who get a charge out of costume dramas and others who love action movies could enjoy together this latest take on Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers.” A great film it is not. It tries too hard to be palatable to teens, rather than asking them to listen to a higher level of writing. The dialogue is glib, slangy and full of 21st-century ideas shoved into a 17th-century world. Even the sword and dagger action is laced with martial-arts riffs. Yet the cast is likable, the costumes gorgeous and the story entertaining enough. Despite the athletic brawls, sword-fighting, cannon and musket fire, we see very little gore in “The Three Musketeers.” Only once or twice is someone visibly run through. Ladies’ bodices are very low-cut, in keeping with a romanticized view of the era, and the film includes much mild sexual innuendo. Characters drink a lot, and the script includes occasional mild profanity and barnyard epithets.

“THE RUM DIARY” – This is the flick for college students fascinated with American culture of the late 1950s and how it marinated into the counterculture of the 1960s. Johnny Depp plays journalist Paul Kemp in this adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s novel. Kemp is a talented writer with an unquenchable thirst for booze whose unreliability lands him a job with a seedy English-language rag in Puerto Rico, circa 1959. He wants to do stories about poverty in the U.S. territory, but his editor (Richard Jenkins) wants feel-good pieces. Kemp befriends an arrogant Yankee businessman (Aaron Eckhart) who offers him a job. At first Kemp is tempted, mostly as a way to be near the man’s gorgeous girlfriend (Amber Heard). Eventually he sees how corrupt the guy is, and this becomes the story about the awakening of a half-asleep writer. Characters continually drink themselves into an alcoholic haze, and also take psychedelic drugs. There is much sexual innuendo, but only a couple of sexual situations, one with implied toplessness, but neither of them very explicit for an R-rated film.

“PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3” – Horror buffs 15 and older may continue to buy into the “Paranormal Activity” formula – much foreboding and not much happening – in this third film. It is actually intended as a prequel to the whole R-rated series. As in “Paranormal Activity” (released in 2009, but shot in 2007), and “Paranormal Activity 2” (2010), it uses suspense, ominous noises and a lethal finale to keep moviegoers hooked. “Paranormal Activity” films don’t go in for much graphic violence. Nearly all the action is seen via home-video cameras set up to capture unexplained incidents in the night. It’s just that the premise is getting a little worn out. There is very little violence until almost the end of the film, and even then, it is not that graphic for an R. The rating in this case reflects the overall sense of foreboding and the endangerment of two young children. The script includes strong profanity used by adult characters, a steamy but nongraphic sexual situation and a moment involving marijuana.

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